This page was last modified: July 18th 2011 at 11:50PM EST

This is the first tutorial in a tutorial series that seeks to provide basic legal guidance to makers, modders, and hackers as they work on their projects. It is an informal guide written by somebody with no formal legal training, and, as such, should not be used as a substitute for legal counsel.

Introduction:

Making has come a long way as a hobby over the past half century. Computers have become cheap, ubiquitous, and powerful, allowing the average hobbyist to do things that were once only available to major corporations. New communities have arisen to help develop new technologies, such as UAVs and 3D-printing. Open source and the internet have spread from a software idea to a hardware idea to a broad subculture of sharing and development. Indeed, some of the projects and ideas that are shared through open licenses are truly advanced, potentially on par with some commercial products.

Due to this, it seems likely that someday, somewhere some maker will develop an advanced project, that, beyond simply being a technological marvel, could be legitimately dangerous if placed in the wrong hands. In the United States, there are legal safeguards and regulations to prevent the export of such information to potential enemies of the country, and heavy fines if these regulations are disobeyed. Therefore, every maker should have a basic familiarity with ITAR.

What is ITAR?

ITAR stands for International Traffic in Arms Regulations. It is a body of regulations in the United States uses to prevent the export of defense-related goods and services that could undermine national security. It was established during the height of the Cold War in 1976 with the passage of the Arms Export Control Act. For the most up to date information on ITAR, refer to the US Department of State.

The provisions within ITAR essentially restrict the import and export of defense-related items that are defined on the United States Munitions List (USML). Here, export does not merely refer to the act of physically sending a product to another country. Posting ITAR-restricted information online and most other forms of communication legally constitute a form of export.

The United States Munitions List

There are many categories of defense articles on the USML, and they are detailed briefly below. (Examples of maker projects in a given category are given; however, their inclusion does not mean that they violate ITAR, or are likely to violate ITAR)

1. Firearms, Close Assault Weapons, and Combat Shotguns: This category includes such things as firearms (nonautomatic, semiautomatic, and full-automatic), combat shotguns (barrel of less than 18 inches), silencers, and scopes, as well as related technical data. At the time of this writing there isn’t significant Maker activity in this area, so further details are omitted.

 

2. Guns and Armaments: Category 2 of the USML concerns weapons such as howitzers, mortars, cannons, flamethrowers, and their associated parts and technical data. Section (d) specifically mentions kinetic energy weapon systems, which could be construed to cover such popular maker projects as the coilgun or the railgun. Other potential maker projects include flamethrower builds



3. Ammunition/Ordinance: Category 3 of the USML largely concerns ammunition, tools, and related technical data for items described in articles 1 and 2. As with category 1, there isn’t any apparent significant maker activity in this area.



4. Launch Vehicles, Guided Missiles, Ballistic Missiles, Rockets, Torpedoes, Bombs and Mines: If it explodes, it’s probably mentioned under category 4 of the USML. This category includes such things as rockets and missiles, warheads, explosive devices, and related equipment and technical data. Potential DIY examples of things in this category include homemade rocket engines and guided missiles



5. Explosives and Energetic Materials, Propellants, Incendiary Agents and their Constituents: Category 5 of the USML covers the explosive and incendiary agents in their raw form. There are alot of very specific chemical compositions listed there, but in general things that explode or make fire in a significant way should be considered. A very popular DIY project that fits under this category is Thermite.



6. Vessels of War and Special Naval Equipment: Category 6 covers ships of all varieties, as well as some other equipment (harbor detection devices, nuclear propulsion systems), and all associated items and technical data. Maker activity is not significant in this area, so no other details are given.



7. Tanks and Military Vehicles: Section 7 of ITAR covers tanks, armored vehicles, military trains, and other land vehicles, as well as parts and related technical data. A few dedicated makers have built DIY tanks, and there’s a military ground combat vehicle being sponsored by DARPA that fall into this category.



8. Aircraft and Associated Equipment: Category 8 is all about air vehicles. Aircraft of all varieties, aircraft engines, navigation systems and IMUs, and all related technical data are all covered under this category. This category covers the entire field of UAVs, which is rapidly becoming a popular Maker project.



9. Military Training Equipment and Training: Category 9 covers any equipment used for the training of troops, including any simulation-related materials. Fighter cockpit projects are a popular example of DIY projects in this category.



10. Protective Personnel Equipment and Shelters: Category 10 includes body armor, military space suits, dive suits, high altitude suits, shelters, and other protective devices.



11. Military Electronics: Category 11 of ITAR covers military electronics systems, including sonar, radar, radios, electronic warfare equipment, and related technical data. DIY projects falling under this category include DIY radar projects and Adafruit’s Wave Bubble cell/GPS jammer.



12. Fire Control, Range Finder, Optical, and Guidance and Control Equipment: Category 12 deals with military optics and other similar devices. Targeting systems used in popular DIY turret builds and various DIY nightvision builds fall into this category.



13. Auxillary Military Equipment: Objects covered under category 13 include military cameras, cryptographic systems, scuba systems (including rebreathers), and many many other things.



14. Toxicological Agents, Including Chemical and Biological Agents, and Associated Equipment: This covers a wide array of chemicals and biological agents designed to cause damage to the human body. Needless to say, these don’t make for a particularly popular maker project.



15. Spacecraft Systems and Associated Equipment: Category 15 deals with satellites, GPS equipment, radiation-hardened electronics, and associated technical data. A particularly interesting ITAR-imposed restriction on GPS receivers comes from this category, in that GPS receivers capable of producing meaningful results above 60,000 feet are subject to ITAR restrictions (people who participate in high altitude weather balloon projects sometimes run into this restriction).



16. Nuclear Weapons, Design and Testing Related Items: Category 16 deals with nuclear weapons, testing chambers, related parts, and technical data. In addition, testing materials (including Geiger counters) are regulated under this section. Unless you’re the radioactive boy scout, this category probably doesn’t apply to you.



17. Classified Articles, Technical Data, and Defense Services Not Otherwise Enumerated: A catch all category for things the lawmakers couldn’t think of. Every law has one.



18. Directed Energy Weapons: Category 18 includes lasers, particle accelerators, high power RF systems, and related parts and technical data. Popular DIY projects in this category include DIY laser builds and microwave guns



19. [Reserved]: This category is not detailed in the USML
20. Submersible Vessels, Oceanographic and Associated Equipment: Category 20 details submersible vehicles of all sizes and shapes. A particularly popular DIY project in this area is the ROV, which this category covers.

Cases Where ITAR Doesn’t Apply:

ITAR applies in situations where information about a given product or project is not publicly known. Therefore, if it can be shown that the information being used to build your project comes entirely from textbooks and/or publicly accessible information, you are free to post the results of your work online with little fear from ITAR. It is quite likely that your project doesn’t violate ITAR, but it is far better to know ahead of time than to be mistaken later.

Conclusion:

In this tutorial, we talked about government regulations concerning defense export. Your project may or may not be governed by ITAR, but at the end of the day, understanding ITAR regulations will allow you to know your risks when you set out on your next big project, and take actions accordingly.

Know your risks.

Further Reading:

• US Department of State Directorate of Defense Trade Controls website
• ITAR Definition
• The United States Munitions List (USML)
• Vilations and Penalties